This invention relates to an appliance for the epilation of the human skin, having a housing to accommodate a motor for driving at least one clamping device rotary about an axis for epilation, and having a means to reduce the sense of pain during epilation, said means including at least one element that is movable toward and away from the skin when the appliance is placed in epilating position on the user""s skin. The invention relates in addition to a method for the epilation of the human skin.
An epilating appliance of this type and a related method of epilation are known from European patent application No. EP 493 849 A1. According to this patent application, the hairs are continuously entrapped and extracted by counter-rotating rollers. In front of the rollers are webs which lie flat on the skin during use and jointly perform a vibrating reciprocating movement. The frequency of this vibration can lie between 5 hertz and 1000 hertz. During use of the epilating appliance the vibrations of the webs engaging the user""s skin are intended to produce a pain that overshadows the pain caused by the epilation. This should result at least subjectively in a reduction of the user""s sense of pain caused by the actual epilation. In practice, however, it has shown that the actual stinging pain caused by the epilation is still perceived and felt as unpleasant by the user in spite of the use of these vibrating webs engaging the skin.
An epilating appliance according to the non prior published German patent application No. P 44 08 809 has a rotary cylinder with clamping devices that enable the cyclic entrapment and extraction of hairs. Provision is made furthermore for two electrodes enabling a stimulating current to be emitted to the skin. This enables stimulation of the underlying nerve structures, resulting in the at least subjective impression of a reduction of pain for the user.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an appliance and a method for the epilation of human skin as well as a method for using the appliance, whereby the epilation is performed more effectively and with the greatest possible reduction of the user""s sense of pain.
According to the present invention, this object is achieved in an epilation appliance, and in a method wherein by reason of the fact that at least one element that is movable toward and away from the skin has one free end, a mechanical pulse can be generated to advantage, producing a stimulation on the skin which overshadows the actual pain during epilation. Furthermore, by arranging the at least one element, but in particular several elements, adjacent to the side of the rotary clamping device, the stimulation on the skin occurs advantageously before or during the epilating operation.
The pulse emitted before or during the actual epilating operation simulates artificially the pain otherwise caused by the epilation, being preferably of less intensity but having essentially the same pain characteristic, so that it overshadows or anticipates the actual pain. Because of the reduced intensity the additional pain is not felt by the user to be as disagreeable as the actual stinging pain caused by the actual epilation. On the contrary, practical tests have revealed that users of the epilating appliance hardly feel the actual stinging pain any longer as the result of the preceding pulse, but that instead they notice essentially only the far more agreeable stimulation caused by the respective pulse. This is probably owed to the fact that the nerve cells are practically paralyzed temporarily by the stimulation caused by the pulse and hence are insensitive to pain so that the actual stinging pain caused by the epilation is largely subdued, meaning that the user does not notice it at all or only to a weakened degree. On the whole, therefore, the pulse results in the user either not feeling or hardly feeling the actual stinging pain during epilation so that the sense of pain is substantially reduced.
The appliance and the method are optimized by delivering the pulse against or onto the skin directly before either the time or place or the time and place of the particular individual epilating operation because in this way the nerve cells that are about to be activated by the directly imminent epilating operation will be temporarily deadened or deactivated, so to speak, by the pulse performed ahead of the epilation in time and/or place.
In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the element is associated with the clamping device so as to be rotary about the axis thereof. Hence the element is set in rotation directly with the clamping device. There is no need, therefore, for any special components to drive the element.
In an advantageous further feature of the present invention, the element is movable toward and away from the skin. The pulse is thereby obtained mechanically in simple manner by the reciprocating movement of the element. This requires few additional components and therefore little extra manufacturing effort.
In an advantageous further feature of the present invention, the element is movable from a retracted position into an advanced position and hence into contact with the skin directly before epilation. This movement produces the desired pulse and hence the artificial pain in the skin. It is an advantage for this movement to be performed as close as possible to the epilation, and for the type and manner of the movement, particularly its acceleration and speed, to occur in the manner of a pulse. The pulse serves to create an artificial, weak pain that overshadows the actual stinging pain caused directly afterwards by the epilation and reduces the user""s perception of this pain at least subjectively.
In an advantageous further feature of the present invention, the element is movable into the advanced position directly after the pulse is delivered to the skin. This ensures that the element is back in its starting position for the next epilating operation and able to trigger a new pulse onto the skin. The desired artificial pain is thus created by the pulse without this having any other adverse effects on the user.
According to the present invention it is particularly suitable for the element to be able to be urged back into the retracted position by the skin itself. This arrangement does not require any special components or the like. Instead, the element recedes automatically while delivering a pulse against or onto the skin as soon as it reaches the skin. It is an advantage for each individual clamping device of the appliance to be assigned one element for delivering a pulse. This approach represents an independent feature of the present invention.
In an advantageous aspect of the present invention in which the clamping device is able to perform a rotary movement with cyclic epilation, the element is coupled with the rotary movement of the clamping device and is arranged directly ahead of the clamping device viewed in the direction of rotation. In this simple way the element always delivers a pulse directly ahead of the time and position of each cyclic epilation by the clamping device. This is thus accomplished without any special additional components simply by the advantageous arrangement of the element in front of the clamping device viewed in the direction of rotation.
In an advantageous further feature of the present invention, the element is capable of adopting a retracted position which during a rotary movement has a diameter smaller than the maximum diameter of the clamping device, and an advanced position which during a rotary movement has a diameter greater than the maximum diameter of the clamping device. Hence during a rotary movement the element protrudes beyond the clamping device in its advanced position but not in its retracted position.
Particularly suitably, these two positions of the element are utilized for the following possible ways of generating pulses. A first possibility entails using the advanced position as a starting position and moving the element into its retracted position on striking the skin. The striking of the skin by the element represents the delivery of the pulse. Subsequently, the element is returned to its advanced position. A second possibility entails using the retracted position as a starting position and moving the element in the manner of a pulse into its advanced position directly before epilation. The desired pulse is thus produced and delivered to the skin by simple means. Subsequently, the element is returned to its retracted position. However, it will be appreciated that further possibilities of using the two positions of the element for the generation of pulses may be contemplated in the art.
In practice it has proven to be particularly suitable for the advanced position during a rotary movement to have a diameter which exceeds the maximum diameter of the clamping device by a value of between about 0.1 mm and about 6 mm.
In an advantageous aspect of the present invention, the element is movable by means of centrifugal force and/or spring force and/or cam tracks or the like. The reciprocating movement of the element between its retracted position and its advanced position is thus accomplished by simple means. A very precise control of the reciprocating movement of the element is accomplished in particular by the use of cam tracks.
In a further advantageous aspect of the present invention, the element has a pointed and/or a toothed and/or a bristled wheel and/or an accordingly formed roller or the like. This configuration has proven to be particularly advantageous in practice in particular for the above-described first possibility of producing pulses. In this case a toothed wheel, for example, is moved in the manner of a pulse from its retracted position to its advanced position with the aid of a cam track directly before epilation.
In another advantageous aspect of the present invention, the element has a protuberance and/or a point or the like and is resiliently coupled with the rotary cylinder. This configuration has proven to be particularly advantageous in practice in particular for the above-described second possibility of producing pulses. In this case the protuberance, for example, strikes the skin and creates the desired pulse following which it is urged back again by the skin from its advanced position into its retracted position.
In this connection it is particularly suitable in accordance with the present invention for the protuberance or the point or the like to be mounted on a threading device for the hairs awaiting extraction.
In another advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the element performs an essentially rectilinear movement. Consequently, when the element strikes the skin it causes particularly good stimulation of the nerves. The essentially rectilinear movement of the element produces a pulse that is particularly well suited to create an artificial pain and hence overshadow the subsequent pain caused by epilation. A further advantage of the element""s rectilinear movement is that such a movement can be produced and controlled easily but nevertheless exactly.
In an advantageous further aspect of the present invention, the element is lowered onto the skin in particular directly before or else during epilation and is lifted from the skin in particular directly upon striking the skin. This sequence of movements for the element has proven to be particularly suitable in practice. It ensures in particular that the pulse triggered by the element is very short and occurs invariably before or during epilation.
In an advantageous further feature of the present invention, the processes of lowering the element onto the skin and lifting the element from the skin are controlled by mechanical means. In this manner it is possible, therefore, to control the movement of the element exactly but nevertheless simply and economically.
In an advantageous further feature of the present invention, the element is coupled with the clamping device for control purposes. This also facilitates the control of the element. Furthermore, this coupling is a simple and economical way to drive the element.
In an advantageous further feature of the present invention, the element is of a ram-type configuration and has a point which strikes the skin. In this feature the element is therefore a simple, elongate component which in particular on account of its point is particularly well suited to produce the desired pulse and hence pain upon striking the skin.
In an advantageous further feature of the present invention, the element is associated with a drive shaft that operates to lower the element into contact with the skin and lift it off again. The movement of the element is generated and controlled simultaneously by means of the drive shaft. Conveniently, the drive shaft is thus assigned a dual function. This simplifies the entire construction of the element""s drive and control mechanism and has a positive impact on manufacture and related costs.
In an advantageous further feature of the present invention, the drive shaft is configured in the manner of a crank and is coupled with the element. The element""s drive and control mechanism is materially simplified in particular by construction of the drive shaft in the form of a crankshaft. Particularly suitably, the element includes a guide in which the drive shaft engages. Simple yet effective coupling of the element with the drive shaft is thus achieved.
In an advantageous further feature of the present invention, provision is made for gears, bevel gears or the like to establish connection between the drive shaft and the clamping device. These types of connection represent simple yet effective possibilities of coupling the drive shaft with the clamping device. Hence the element as a whole is coupled with the clamping device on the one hand via the gears or bevel gears or the like and, on the other hand, via the element""s guide, which engages in the crank-type drive shaft. By this means the element is driven and controlled by the clamping device via the drive shaft.
In an advantageous further feature of the present invention, a plurality of elements are in juxtaposed arrangement approximately parallel to each other. Suitable elements can thus be provided across the full width of the clamping device, enabling corresponding pulses for reducing the pain to be produced wherever epilation takes place.
In this connection it is particularly suitable for the drive shaft to be arranged approximately parallel to the axis of the clamping device. This arrangement facilitates the coupling of the drive shaft with the clamping device, in addition to being advantageous with a view to the arrangement of the element or elements driven and controlled by the drive shaft.
In further advantageous features of the present invention, the element or elements are mounted for displacement in the longitudinal direction, and/or the drive shaft is rotatably mounted on the housing.
In an advantageous further feature of the present invention, the element delivers a mechanical pulse and/or an electrical pulse. The particular advantage of the mechanical pulse is that the element can be manufactured in a simple and economical way. Furthermore, this type of pulse generation is easy to understand by the user, which is an advantage for the user""s acceptance of innovations. The advantage of the electrical pulse is that there is customarily no need for any moving components and that the pulse can be controlled easily by conventional electronic means.
Particularly suitably, the electrical pulse is generated on the epilating appliance of German patent application No. P 44 08 809 initially referred to by controlling the stimulating current in dependence upon the cyclic epilation, particularly by emitting a stimulating current in the manner of a pulse, in particular ahead of the place and/or time of each cyclic epilating operation.
German P 44 08 809 corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,935.
In a particular further feature of the present invention, which can represent an independent solution to the object of the present invention, a method for the epilation of the human skin is proposed, in which a mechanical pulse is delivered to the user""s skin by means of at least one element coupled with the drive mechanism of a clamping device for epilation, which pulse causes the user either not to feel the actual pain of the epilation or to feel it only as a pain of lower amplitude. Advantageously, the skin is struck with a free end of the at least one element which is arranged adjacent to the side of the rotary clamping device. On the one hand this results in the free end producing a stimulation on the skin that overshadows or at least reduces the pain of epilation. On the other hand the arrangement of the at least one element adjacent to the side of the rotary cylinder has the effect of enabling the stimulation to be generated on the skin ahead of the time and/or place of the epilating operation or during it. It is thus possible advantageously to effectively reduce the pain of epilation.
A method for the use of an appliance in accordance with the present invention is also proposed. This method entails placing the appliance on the user""s skin to be treated and moving it over the skin in such a way that the means for reducing the sense of pain, in particular the free end of the at least one element, precedes the rotary clamping device for epilation viewed in the direction of movement. An advantageous application of the appliance enabling an effective reduction of the actual pain of epilation is thus provided.